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Dmitriy Salita Reflects on Finding God in the Ring

Rocky Mountain Collegian

For world champion welterweight boxer, Dmitriy Salita, finding his spirituality and a sense of himself became a product of his dedication to his boxing gloves.

“It may sound odd, but I found God at the Starrett City Boxing Club,” Salita said to the community members who attended the Shabbat 200, hosted by the Chabad Jewish Student Organization Friday night in the Lory Student Center.

For Rabbi Yerachmiel Gorelik, bringing Salita to CSU was a mixture of good fortune and good timing.

“Two hundred people walked away differently because of it,” Gorelik said. “A challenge for students is to embrace Jewish pride, and we try to bring people who can speak to that. I think Dimitriy’s story really spoke to that.”

Born in Ukraine, Salita said he never had much connection to his Jewish heritage other than the fact he knew it limited him in Ukrainian society — that is until he immigrated to America.

At nine years old, his parents moved him and his brother from Odessa to Brooklyn in New York, where Salita said he finally felt at home enough to discover who he was.

“America is the best country in the world because it allows you to be whoever you want to be,” Salita said. “America gave me incredible opportunities as a religious person and as a boxer. I got to learn who I was, express it and not be punished for it.”

Four years later, after seeing a talent in Salita, his brother introduced him to boxing, where his hard work quickly landed him the respect of many boxers at the club.

“In the beginning my skills and my determination didn’t go hand in hand,” Salita said. “All good things come with hardship and hard work.”

During his time training Salita said that he believed in God, but had many questions concerning Judaism and how he fit within the religion.

It was at this time that Salita started to pay more attention to observant Judaism and for him, his spirituality started to come by way of baby steps. By taking small commandments upon him he said he received the will and strength to take on larger ones, eventually becoming more observant of Orthodox Judaism.

By 17, Salita had entered the Golden Gloves boxing tournament held in New York City. And while he made it to the finals, he ended up losing, which led him to consider options other than a boxing career. His success up until the finals got him noticed in the boxing community, however, and he was invited to enter a national competition in Mississippi.

After the invitation, Salita said he went to be blessed by his Rabbi who promised him success if he committed himself to Orthodox Judaism.

For Salita this was a shock, because becoming orthodox for him meant declining to box during the Sabbath, which would be a problem –– especially during the fights in Mississippi.

“I remember thinking, ‘whoa Rabbi, take it easy, I am not on that level yet — you are asking the impossible,’” Salita said. “He told me to close my eyes and do it.”

He decided not to fight in one of his scheduled fights in Mississippi. However after being featured in a Mississippi newspaper, the organizers rescheduled the fight and, despite spectator’s skepticism of him as a Jewish boxer, he ended up winning.

“It was the breaking point for me, my own roadblock,” Salita said.

According to Salita, his win was no coincidence. Seeing his talent as a gift from God, Salita believes his faith led to his accomplishments. After the fights in Mississippi, Salita went pro and in recent years has become a world champion in welterweight division boxing.

“My success and my blessings come from the fact that I am Shabbat observant,” Salita said. “At the end of the day my success in life comes from my Jewishness.”

And for the attendees of the Shabbat 200, his message and encouragement of self-expression and discovery was not only intended for the Jewish community but for the non-Jewish attendees as well.

According to Gorelik, Salita’s speech communicated the message the Chabad Jewish Student Organization was trying to convey to Jewish students. For the Rabbi, this translates into something that can be understood by people from all walks of life.

“If you truly believe in who you are or what you want to be you can accomplish anything. This message was a tremendous strength and accomplishment,” Gorelik said.

While Salita believes his boxing goes hand in hand with his faith, at the end of the day, his faith matters more to him than anything else.

“Learn about yourself, there’s a lot of anti-Semitism and stereotypes in pop culture. Encourage yourself and encourage others, our purpose is to make the world a better place,” Salita said at the Shabbat 200. “I feel it is my responsibility to preach Jewish belief and Jewish pride.”

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24 Comments

  • BS--D

    BS”D
    Amazing story,
    This man is amazing! May you only go from strength to strength Reb Salita!
    Dimitriy Salita…. Shalit’a! :)

  • Mendel

    he gets paid to punch people. What a chillel hashem !

    If he truly found g-d he would not punch people anymore because it is against the holy torah to injure people

  • emeti

    I don’t like it, but it is a world acknowledged sport. Its not like he picks on random people. Why do you have to upshlug his Rabbi? The guy does it, and he checked with his Rabbi, he davens, gives tzedaka, and many mitzvos. If you’re bored, go pick on something more substantial.

  • Fighting is not a Torah value

    It is very difficult to reconcile fighting, even if only professionally, with spirituality and G-dliness!
    While we can certainly respect Dmitri for his Jewish observance as well as commitment and discipline, at the end of the day,fighting is not a torah value. And, it is certainly not something I want to impart to my kida or want them to follow or look up to in any way!

  • Kingston Walker

    read the roshei teivos of comment #4 – I think there is a hidden message

  • Moshe pippik

    How does one find Hashem by hitting and injuring others? Because he is a bal teshuva and they want to keep him “in the fold” so they let the subject slide. It really isn’t right.

  • AA

    All of the commenters who are saying that it’s wrong of him to be boxing:

    Have you actually picked up a sefer and found any indication (not your own instinctive reaction) that it is halachically problematic? Because it is not too difficult to find evidence the other way. Take, for example, Shaalos Uteshuvos Chemdas Tzvi no. 22 secs. 16-26(http://www.hebrewbooks.org/… and following pages), in which he goes into some detail on whether it is permissible to box, exercise, massage, etc., on Shabbos, and concludes that they are “uvdin dechol,” weekday activities – which of course implies that they are fine on weekdays. Now, granted, the author of this teshuvah is probably not the only opinion on the subject; but at least he’s as worthy of respect as anyone else.

  • This is wrong!

    so we are now supporting a boxer… someone who punches and hurts people for money..

    whats next?

    will we support a mafia hit man who breaks peoples legs for money if the hit man goes to shul once in a while and says he found Hashem?

  • ANON

    I saw him fight….he is very spiritual. Then you look at the bruised face and the cuts…I don’t see the point in grown men beating each other up, but I like boxing!! Go figure….

  • anonymous

    I think its worse when Matisyahu gives a concert on Tisha B’Av…..but what do I know.

  • This is a good day

    I remember when Amir Khan beat him. I was so happy. Dmitri got what was coming to him. How dare this guy beat people up for money and pretend to be religious.

  • Focus on the positive people

    Please people, see the good, for once. If I was him, all the negative comments would turn me off from religion. He became frum from receiving positive guidance not from frum jews bashing him( by the way he could take you all out, lol). Please no need for Lashon Hara, its not easy to be frum in his world and he was born with a talent for this sport. It is a SPORT, he is not beating people up! Its a controlled sport with rules and while you may not agree with it you need to focus on the positive Dmitri!

  • Mordehai

    What about Israely soldiers who serve in the army as a career and kill and hurt if necessary, or israely police, or massed who kill and hurt when necessary
    What about King David who hurt Goliath and killed him how is it against Torah?

  • Dovid

    he doesnt walk down the street and beat up random people. He is playing a professional sport.

    get a life and stop looking for ways to insult people

  • Mordehai

    What about russian jews who fought against nazis during WW2 is it against Torah… Uprising in Varsavah ghetto against Torah?

  • Feivel

    dont argue that this is self defense such as the jews fighting the nazis in the warsaw ghetto. That is a foolish arguement

    this man obviously enjoys punching people and getting paid for it.

    it is wrong according to the toirah

  • JJ

    I like boxing. Dmitri Salita is pretty good (except when Amir Khan beat him badly)

    I dont understand why playing sports would be against the torah?

    Everyone should use whatever talent god gave them , and if they can turn their talents into a way to make money and support their family that is great!

    It can always be argued that riding a bicycle, or playing soccer is bittul torah… but lets be realistic here… none of us are tzaddikim that learn torah 24 hours a day. We need time to work and earn money , time to relax, time for sports and exercise to keep our bodies healthy etc

    If Dmitri Salita has enough time in his schedule to study torah for only 1 hour a day , that is still more than most people do, and therefore he should be considered religious

    Those who are criticizing him are wrong. Those same people would probably criticize a doctor because he has female patients.

  • The only Jewish boxer

    Dmitriy unlike some other “Jewish” boxer was born and raised Jewish and married religious Jewish girl